North Carolina, Oral History, Paternal Kin

Papa’s sons.

Jesse Jacobs Jr.’s first wife, Sarah “Sally” Bridgers, died shortly after the birth of their youngest child, Annie Bell in 1895. A year later, he married Sarah Daisy Henderson, who reared Sally’s children alongside her own daughter and her sister’s two children. Jesse’s sons, James Daniel Jacobs (1881-1952), Dock Davis Jacobs (circa1888-1944), and Reddick Jacobs (1889-1921), were grown by time my grandmother came to live with Jesse and Sarah. They were not her blood kin, but were family nonetheless.

Jim Daniel. Jim Daniel Jacobs. He and Roxie lived down in Clinton down there, and he come to Wilson when they got married, before they had a family. I remember that. They talked about me coming to visit, but he used to come up to bring tobacco. I remember, “Why in the world he had to come all the way to Wilson …?” I just do remember him, by him – lots of times they would come by the house, see Papa, wanted to know how he was doing, and whatever. They didn’t stay no time, had to get back and see what time they was gon sell tobacco. So, I don’t know whatever became of him. Now, Mamie went down when Jim Daniel got married. He married Roxie, a girl named Roxie, and they was still down there in Clinton, wherever, somewhere down … anyway, I know it wasn’t Mount Olive, and so when Roxie got pregnant, then Jim Daniel wanted Mamie to come down there and stay with his wife. He said, “I’ll pay for her to look after her, stay with her in the house,” ‘cause he was working down in the field and needed some one to look after her. So Mamie went down there to stay. Didn’t stay, but … I never did go down there. I never did see ‘em, after Jim Daniel brought up some corn one time to see Papa ‘cause he was sick.

James D. and Roxie Simmons Jacobs.

Dock, now he married a lady named Nettie. I met her. She was brown-skinned, small, brown-skinned lady, and they had about six, seven children. He met her, they got married up there in New York and had all these children, and I think, I think they had a falling out, and he went to stay with somebody else. I don’t know. Yeah. I went to their house. Nettie, I saw her one time. And her hair was ‘bout like that, I reckon. ‘Cause it looked like it was plaited. She tucked it under. But she was very pretty and nice…. Well, she wont pretty to me. But I remember where she was a very sweet and nice person.

Dock, like his siblings Carrie and Reddick, migrated to New York City. In 1923, Jesse and Sarah H. Jacobs deeded their house at 303 Elba Street, Wilson, to Jesse’s surviving children Carrie, Jim Daniel, Dock and Annie Bell. On 15 Apr 1938, Dock filed a deed for the sale for $20 of his undivided interest in the house to my grandmother (then called Hattie Jacobs). He used the money to buy a train ticket back to New York, and my grandmother used the deed to claim a share in the sale of the only home she’d ever known.

Dock Jacobs.

The other brother, the younger one. Reddick. He was one that got shot in the café. He was getting ready to leave, and say him and another fellow got to arguing, and the man shot him. Well, they brought him home. Papa was living then. They brought him home, and they had to bring the body up to the house. And me and Mamie had to go examine it, you know. But I didn’t put my hands on him. I went in there and looked at him, and I said, “Well, where did he get shot?” After he was all dressed up, laying out there in the casket. And so Mamie said, she said, “Girl, don’t you see? They shot him right in his face. Right there.” And I said, “I don’t see nothing.” And then she had to put her finger right in his eye. And it was in his left eye. It went right in through there and come out the back of his head. He was sitting at the restaurant, and a fellow shot him.

Congregational Church cemetery, Dudley NC

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Photograph of James and Roxie Jacobs courtesy of Carla Carter Jacobs. Original photograph of Dock Jacobs in the collection of Lisa Y. Henderson. Photograph of gravestone taken by Lisa Y. Henderson in March 2013. Interviews of Hattie H. Ricks by Lisa Y. Henderson, all rights reserved.

Births Deaths Marriages, North Carolina, Paternal Kin

Eureka, no. 1.

In an old notebook, I found this comment scribbled in 1988:

“Polly Ann Price married Lewis Martin at Calvin Dail’s house. Calvin Dail’s wife was Susan Price. Polly and Susan were near enough in age to be sisters.”

Lewis H. Martin and Polly Ann Price‘s son was Joseph “Buck” Martin, father of my great-grandmother Bessie and her brother Jack Henderson. I have not given them much thought over the years, it is true. Tapping into the research of others, I have long been able to extend Lewis Martin’s lines back a few generations into Caseys, Lewises, Grants, Utleys and Selfs. Polly Ann’s parentage was a mystery, though, a full stop, and I never got beyond wondering if Susan Dail was a key.

Five minutes on the internet today — searching for Susan Price Dail — and, voila, she and Mary “Polly” Ann were indeed sisters, and their parents were James Price (1805-circa1870) and Margaret Herring (1809-1898). Several Ancestry.com family trees claim the couple, but posit differing — and occasionally impossible — individuals as their parents. I’ll examine the possibilities soon. (And hope a revelation comes in fewer than 25 years!)

Births Deaths Marriages, North Carolina, Other Documents, Paternal Kin

North Carolina death certificates: ALDRIDGE, part 1.

North Carolina did not require death certificates until 1914. The following abstracts relate to the first three generations of Aldridges whose deaths were recorded by law.

Wife of Robert Aldridge (1819-1899):

Eliza Aldridge. Died 29 Jan 1824, Brogden, Wayne County, of influenza. Colored. Widow of Robert Aldridge. Born 29 February 1829, Duplin County, to unknown father and “Nancy ?” Buried near Dudley. Informant, Joseph Aldridge.

Children of George W. Aldridge (1851-??), son of Robert and Eliza Balkcum Aldridge:

Prince Albert Aldridge. Died 15 May 1953, Wilson, of terminal uremia. Negro. Married. Plasterer. Born 11 January 1902, Wayne County, to George Aldridge and Dora Green. Buried family cemetery, Wilson County. Informant, Mrs. Annie Aldridge.

Blanchard Aldridge. Died 4 February 1965, Fremont, Wayne County, of organic brain syndrome. Negro. Never married. Barber. World War I veteran. Born 1 July 1897 in NC to George Aldridge and Dora Green. Buried Fremont. Informant, Reka Morrisey.

Wife and children of John W. Aldridge (1853-1910), son of Robert and Eliza Balkcum Aldridge:

Vicy Aldrich. Died 13 Feb 1927 at 8:30 a.m. Doctor noted “Only saw her one time, the day before she died. Probably apoplexy.” Colored. Born 30 Sep 1862 in Eureka, Wayne County, to Adam T. Artis and Frances Hagans of Wayne County NC. Widow of John Aldrich. Buried 14 Feb 1927, Aldrich cemetery, Dudley NC. Undertaker: Artis & Freeman, Wilson NC. Informant, John J. Aldridge.

Amanda Newsome. Died 6 November 1918, Great Swamp, Wayne County, of influenza and pneumonia “contributing pregnancy & childbirth.” Colored. Married. Born 23 December 1891, Wayne County, to John Aldridge and Vicy Aldridge. Buried Dudley. Informant, Lonnie Newsome.

Lulu Aldridge. Died 16 November 1919, Brogden, of “exhaustion from mania.” Colored. Single. Born 1884. Worked “on farm of her father.” Born Brogden township to J.W. Aldridge and Vici Artis. Buried Dudley. Informant, J.J. Aldridge.

John Aldridge. Died 13 April 1964, Goldsboro, of acute myocardial infarction. Indian. Widower of Ora Aldridge. Retired farmer. Born 14 December 1887, Wayne County, to J.W. Aldridge and Vicy Artis. Buried Congregational cemetery. Informant, Cecelia Saunders.

Ora Bell Adridge. Died 26 April 1961, Goldsboro, of cerebral thrombosis “secondary to removal of infected gallbladder.” Colored. Married to John Aldridge. Born 22 February 1895, Wayne County, to James L. Mozingo and Bettie Johnson. Buried, church cemetery. Informant, John Aldridge.

Francis Newsome. Died 14 March 1961, Dudley, of cerebral hemorrhage. Negro. Widow of Lonnie Newsome. Born 14 May 1887, Wayne County, to John Aldridge and Luvicey Artis. Buried New Aldridge cemetery near Gold Park Lake. Informant, Mrs. Lenora Henderson.

Lenora Christine Henderson. Died 29 November 1961, Goldsboro, of cerebral embolism. Resided Dudley. Negro. Widow of Henry L. Henderson. Born 22 August 1903, Wayne County, to John William Aldridge and Luevicey Artis. Buried Congregational cemetery. Informant, H.B. Henderson.

Matthew Aldridge (1857-1920), son of Robert and Eliza Balkcum Aldridge, and children:

Mathew Aldridge. Died 6 May 1920, Goldsboro, of cerebral apoplexy. Colored. Married to Fanny Aldridge. Age 64 years, 2 months, 28 days. Merchant “for his own benefit.” Born Goldsboro NC to Robert Aldridge and Liazzy Borkins, both of Wayne County. Buried Elmwood cemetery. Informant, Levi Kennedy.

Daisy Williams Couch. Died 2 Jan 1954, at home at 63 Madison Avenue, Asheville NC, of coronary thrombosis due to myocardial infarct (chronic nephritis contributing). Negro. Married to J.C. Couch. Born 28 Sep 1890, Goldsboro NC, to Matthew Aldridge and Fannie Kennedy. Buried Goldsboro NC.

Children of Amanda Aldridge Artis (1860-1899), daughter of Robert and Eliza Balkcum Aldridge:

Annie Deliah Sauls. Died 1 October 1957, Stantonsburg, Wayne County, of “evidently a heart attack – had been having trouble for past twelve months with angina – she worked all day slipped off of chair and was dead when I got there.” Negro. Married to William Sauls. Born 19 July 1897, Wayne County, to Adam T. Artis Sr. and Mandy Aldridge. Buried Forte cemetery, Wayne County. Informant, Adam T. Artis.

Columbus Estelle Artis. Died 18 March 1973, Wilson, of generalized arteriosclerosis. Negro. Married to Ruby Barber. Retired undertaker. Resided 611 E. Green Street. Birn 28 August 1886 to Adam T. Artis and Manda Aldridge. Buried Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson. Informant, Mrs. Ruby B. Artis.

Lillie B. Pridgen. Died 27 May 1935, Jason, Greene County NC, “acute dilatation of heart” secondary to “old heart disease, mittral stenosis, pregnancy, acute nephritis.” Spouse of Chester Pridgen. Residence, R#1, Lagrange NC. “Housework in own home.” Born 10 Feb 1894, Wayne County NC to Adam Artis and Amanda Aldridge. Informant, Chester Pridgen. Buried Greene County 29 May 1935.

June Scott Artis. Died 2 June 1973, Stantonsburg, Wilson County, of chronic myocarditis. Farmer. Black. Married to Ethel Becton. Born 23 November 1895 to Adam Artis and Mandy Aldridge. Buried Artis cemetery, Wayne County. Informant, Mrs. Ethel B. Artis.

Robert Aldridge Jr. (1866-1940), son of Robert and Eliza Balkcum Aldridge, his wife and children:

Robert Aldridge. Died 29 August 1940, Dudley, Wayne County, or “uremia chronic nephritis.” Colored. Widower of Polly Aldridge. Age 70. Farmer on his land. Born Wayne County to Robert Aldridge of Sampson County and Eliza Baucam of Wayne County. Buried Brogden township. Informant, Paul Aldridge.

Polly Aldridge. Died 12 March 1928. Brogden, Wayne County, of arterial hypertension and valvular heart disease. Colored. Married to Robert Aldridge. Age 58. Born Wayne County to Neddham Grantham and Lucy Grantham, both of Wayne County. Buried Augustus Chapel. Informant, Robert Aldridge.

Paul Aldridge. Died 8 June 1947, Brogden, Wayne County, of pulmonary congestion and tuberculosis. Colored. Married to Eliza Aldridge. Farmer. Born 16 May 1913, Wayne County, to Robert Aldridge and Pollie Aldridge, both of Wayne County. Buried Aldridge cemetery, Wayne County. Informant, Mrs. Eliza Aldridge.

Lula Aldridge Smith. Died 8 Apr 1966, cerebral vascular accident, NC Memorial Hospital, Chapel Hill, Orange County NC. Resided 205 Caldwell Street, Chapel Hill NC. Born 20 Feb 1895, Wayne County NC to Robert Aldridge and Polly Grantham. Married to James Smith. Buried 11 Apr 1866, Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery.

Joseph Aldridge (1869-1934), son of Robert and Eliza Balkcum Aldridge, and children:

Joseph Aldridge. Died 6 September 1934, Goldsboro, of cardiovascular renal disease. Resided 208 Bright Street, Goldsboro. Colored. Married to Martha Aldridge. Farmer. Age 64. Born Wayne County to Robert Aldridge of Wayne County and Eliza Barkins of Sampson County. Buried Brogden township. Informant, Allen Aldridge.

Allen Aldridge. Died 21 November 1969, Goldsboro, of cerebrovascular thrombosis. Negro. Married to Ida Bell Evans. Resided 509 Bunche Drive. Chef. Born 2 September 1908 to Joseph Aldridge and Luberta Manley. Buried Aldridge cemetery. Informant, Mrs. Ida Bell Aldridge.

Enslaved People, Land, North Carolina, Paternal Kin, Photographs

Where we lived: north of Wilson, near the railroad.

Thanks to Marion “Monk” Moore and Joan Howell Waddell, I’ve been able to identify the approximate locations of several of the white farmer-landowners listed near Willis and Cherry Battle Barnes in the 1870 census. If the family remained in the general area in which they had been enslaved, Hugh B. Johnston’s speculation is correct.

Toisnot Reservoir, a dammed stretch of Toisnot Swamp, today lies on the northern edge of the city of Wilson. Joshua Barnes, Alpheus Branch, Ceborn Farmer, Isaac Farmer and Jesse Farmer’s farms all lay north of the swamp and south of present-day Elm City in a corridor now defined by London Church Road, the CSX Railroad (then the Wilmington & Weldon) and US Highway 301. The Barneses lived somewhere in this area. In the photo above, the diagonal running top to bottom is the railroad, London Church Road bows to the left, and numbers mark the approximate locations of farms and modern landmarks: (1) Isaac Farmer land; (2) Seborn Farmer land; (3) Alpheus Branch land; (4) Joshua Barnes land; (5) Toisnot Reservoir; and (6) the Bridgestone-Firestone tire plant.

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In a letter dated 11 January 2007, Waddell included a map of Wilson County with the above properties marked. Many thanks to her and Monk Moore.

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Update, 23 June 2015: Joshua Barnes’ house is not only still standing, it’s been continuously occupied since the 1840s and was on the market just a few years ago. It’s located at 3415 London Church Road.

North Carolina, Oral History, Paternal Kin

The link.

As a daughter often is, in the early 20th century Sarah H. Jacobs Silver was the linchpin of Lewis and Mag Henderson’s family. Death and migration had forced in wedges. Sarah set her broad back against them. She was in Wilson with her sister Loudie’s son and grandchildren; her brother Lucian was in Dudley; and brother Caswell in New York. Sister Ann Elizabeth Henderson Simmons died leaving children, but Carrie Henderson Boseman left none behind. Sarah maintained links between them and across generations, made sure her aged parents were cared for, and, later, when Lucian was failing, saw to it that he and his sickly wife ate:

Mama Sarah’d fix dinner and send it down to Dudley on the train. The man that run the whatchacallit, engine? Up there, where stokes the fire or whatever is on the train. He would take it. She would tell what day she was gon send it. And so somebody’d be up there to the train station to get it. And the train, ‘cause a lot of time the train didn’t stop. But anyway, the man, the conductor, he would pull the thing, whatever, for the train to stop long enough for him to drop off this package. And that’s the way Mama sent food down there to Uncle Lucian and A’nt Susie.

Though her mother was dead, and her grandmother, and her great-grandmother, and though she lived a long day’s journey away from her birthplace – because of Sarah my grandmother knew her family. Visited Uncle Lucian, A’nt Nancy, A’nt Ella, Cousin Henry and his wife Nora, and Cousin Dolly in Wayne County. Uncle Caswell in New York. Cousin Min in Philadelphia, and Min’s brother Daniel in Baltimore. Lived for a while with A’nt Mollie in Greensboro. Worked in tobacco with Cousin Elias and his children David John and Estelle. She didn’t always know exactly how she was kin to all these Hendersons, and over the years the bonds faded, but she knew they were her people. With her stories as blueprints, I was able to rebuild.

Births Deaths Marriages, North Carolina, Paternal Kin

Found.

On 7 Aug 1897, “Michiel” Taylor witnessed the marriage of Jordan Taylor Jr. and Eliza Taylor in Wilson NC. Was one or the other Taylor related to Mike?

After I typed this today, I did quick searches on Jordan and Eliza – and thereby put the lie to “The Disappearing Taylors.”

There. Eliza Taylor Taylor’s death certificate. She died 25 May 1934 in Rose Hill, Duplin County. She was described as 47 years old (in fact, she was at least 10 years older), married to Jordan Taylor, and born in Wilson County to Green Taylor and Kenzie Taylor, both of Wilson County. Kenzie Taylor, Mike Taylor’s older sister, as Eliza’s mother does not give pause, but Green Taylor as her father? Green was Kenzie’s father. Was this a simple mistake (I’ve seen similar ones before) or a frank acknowledgment of incest (which seems improbable)?

Eliza was either the 8 year-old Lizzie or the 5 year-old Louisa listed in Green Taylor’s household in 1880 Wilson township, Wilson County. Her mother Kinsey was there, too.

In 1900, in Wilson township: Jordan Taylor (born March 1876), wife Eliza (August 1874) and son Greemond (June 1897) shared a household with Sallie Taylor (July 1872) and her son Rufus Taylor (Sept 1895). (This is surely Mike and Mckenzie Taylor’s sister.) Next door: Jordan’s father Jordan Taylor (May 1850) and his wife of 5 years, Matilda (January 1860).

In 1910, in Wilson township: odd jobs laborer Jordan Taylor Jr., 31, wife Eliza, 30, laundress, and son Greeman, 12, with Mary Parker, 69, widow, whose relationship to Jordan was described as “proctor.”

Jordan Taylor registered for the World War I draft on 12 September 1917. He reported his address as RFD#6, Wilson, and his birthday as 15 December 1875. He worked as a ditcher for Sid Clark, his nearest relative was Eliza Taylor, and he signed his card with an X.

In 1920, at 304 Stantonsburg Street in Wilson, Jordan Taylor, 48, wife Eliza, 37, son Greeman, 22, and son Dave, 13. (Where did Dave come from?) Jordan worked as a warehouse tobacco worker, Eliza as a tobacco factory worker, and Greeman as a street boot black.

On 24 March 1922, Greeman Taylor of Stantonsburg Street, Wilson, died of consumption. He was born 2 June 1898 in Wilson to Jordan and Eliza Taylor. He was single.

I have not found the family in the 1930 census.

Jordan Taylor, widower, died 29 April 1957 near Dunn in Johnston County. His informant Ethel Sander reported his birthday as 15 March 1874, and his parents as Jordan Taylor and Frances Smith. He was buried in Wilson.

Land, North Carolina, Oral History, Paternal Kin, Photographs

Where we lived: 303 Elba Street.

The windows were broken and the front door gaped wide open, and I stood in the middle of Elba Street, uncomprehending. An aged neighbor paused on her porch, and I marched over: “Good morning. ’Scuse me. How long has next door been empty?” “Andrews & Andrews …,” she began, and – wait, she think I want to RENT? – I up my decibels, “No, how long has it been empty?” She shrugged, “A good while. They might gon demolish it.” … Demolish?

This was my grandmother’s house. Sort of. Her great-aunt and -uncle — Sarah and Jesse Jacobs — had bought it nearly new in 1908, and my grandmother arrived as an infant three years later when her mother died. She grew up on Elba Street, and her children were – literally – born there, and there they remained until 1938, when Mama Sarah died, and several truths were revealed. One, in 1923, Papa and Mama Sarah had sold the house to his children. Second, contrary to promise and belief, my grandmother never been formally adopted. Papa’s daughters ruthlessly drove this last point home by ordering her and her children out. My father was a small boy, but remembers moving – his hat blew off as he rode away in the back of a truck. Despite the eviction, my grandmother was not done with Elba. One of Papa’s sons sold her his share in exchange for a train ticket back to New York, and the sisters were forced to pay her from the house’s sale.

This place has been gone from my family for 75 years, and yet, for me, it’s Mother Dear’s house. The stories I recorded cemented its place in my imagination – the mantel clock that struck as she rallied from pneumonia, the chiggers that had to be scalded from the walls, the little stable for Papa’s horse, the hoodoo’d peach tree….

“I’ve always wanted to see inside,” I tell the neighbor. “I’m going in.” A glance up and down to check for unwanted notice, a halloo at the threshold, and I stepped through into a small center hall, which surprised me. To either side, multi-function front rooms and, behind, a third room, a bath, and a kitchen under a shed roof, all strewn with the detritus of squatters. Of these last three rooms, only the kitchen was there in my grandmother’s day, and the only obviously original features were the mantels in the front rooms and the heart-pine floors under worn linoleum.

Soon this house will go the way of so much of abandoned east Wilson, which has never recovered from the ravages of the crack epidemic that scoured the neighborhood early and hard. There was nothing much left at 303 Elba to speak to me, but I’m glad I peeked in. It will give shape to my listening to my grandmother’s words, and that’s a gift.

Births Deaths Marriages, North Carolina, Other Documents, Paternal Kin

North Carolina death certificates: HENDERSON.

North Carolina did not require death certificates until 1914. The following abstracts relate to the first two generations of Hendersons whose deaths were recorded by law.

Spouse and children of Lewis Henderson (1836-1912), son of James Henderson and (Sallie?) Skipp:

Marguriet Henderson. Died 17 July 1915, Brogden, Wayne County of unknown causes. Black. Age 82. Born Sampson County to an unknown father and Margaret Bowkin. Informant, Lucian Henderson.

Lution Hinderson. Died 22 June 1934, Brogden, Wayne County, of cerebral hemorrhage. Colored. Married to Susan Hinderson. Age 75 years, 3 months. Farmer. Born Wayne County to Louis Hinderson of Wayne County and Maggie Hill of Sampson County. Informant, Jonnie Carter, Dudley. Buried in Dudley.

Sarah Jacobs Silver. Died 8 Jan 1938, Selma, Johnston County NC, of probable heart disease (“dead when seen.”) Age about 55 years old [actually, 62.] Born Wayne County NC to Lewis Henderson and Margaret Carter, both of Wayne County. Informant, Hattie Jacobs, 303 Elba Street, Wilson NC. C.E. Artis, undertaker. Buried in Wayne County NC on 12 Jan 1938.

Spouse and children of James Henry Henderson (1838-1920), son of James Henderson and (Sallie?) Skipp:

Amelia Brazzell. Died 26 Mar 1914, Goldsboro NC, uremic convulsions (contributing: operation for ryosalprism[?]). Age 37. Married. Born Wayne County NC to Jim Henderson (born Greene County) and Francis Henderson (born Greene County). Informant, E.L. Henderson, Goldsboro NC. Buried 27 Mar 1914, Jason NC.

James Henderson. Died 21 Jun 1920, Faison, Duplin County NC, 12:15 a.m., acute gastro-enteric colitis. Wife, Laura Henderson. Carpenter. Age 80. Born Onslow County NC to James Henderson and Sallie Henderson, both of NC. Buried 22 Jun 1920.

Lewis Henderson. Died 20 June 1932, cerebral tumor (non-malignant), Mount Olive, Wayne County NC. Colored. Married to Hattie Henderson. Age 46 “as near as known.” Born in NC to Jim Henderson and Francis Henderson, both of Wayne County. Buried 20 Jun 1932, Saint Luke. Informant, Hattie Henderson.

Ira Henderson. Died 22 Oct 1946, E. Hillsboro, Mount Olive NC, of bronchopneumonia (due to broncho asthma.) Colored. Married to Johnie Henderson. Carpenter. Born 3 Aug 1881, Wayne County NC to Jim Henderson and Francis Henderson, both of Wayne County NC. Informant, Mrs. Johnnie Henderson, Box 243, E. Hillsboro St., Mount Olive. Buried 25 Oct 1946, Mount Olive NC.

Elias Henderson. Died 14 Nov 1953, Wayne Memorial Hospital, Goldsboro NC, of uremia. Resided Miller’s Chapel section, Goldsboro NC. Negro. Married. Born 24 May 1888, Wayne County NC to Jim Henderson and Laura (last name unknown). Farmer. Informant, Jazelle Henderson, Goldsboro NC. Buried 17 Nov 1953, Lane’s, Wayne County NC.

Georgetta Elliott. Died 8 Sep 1972, LaGrange, Lenoir County NC, coronary occlusion. Negro. Widowed. Born 12 Aug 1894 to Jim Henry Henderson and Frances Sauls. Informant, Mackie B. Williams, 406 Forbes Street, LaGrange NC. Buried 10 Sep 1972, LaGrange cemetery, LaGrange NC.

Spouse and children of Alexander Henderson (1860-1916), son of James Henderson and Louisa Armwood Henderson:

Alexr Henderson. Died 13 June 1916, Goldsboro, Wayne County, of phthis pulmonalis. Colored. Married. Age 56. Born Wayne County to Stephen Henderson and unknown mother. Buried Elmwood cemetery. Informant, Mary Henderson.

Mary J. Henderson. Died 7 September 1926, Goldsboro, Wayne County, of strangulated umbilical hernia. Widow. Age 60. Born Simpson [sic] County to unknown parents. Buried Elmwood cemetery by James Guess. Informant, Will Henderson.

Theodore Henderson. Died 15 November 1936, Goldsboro, Wayne County, “from knife wounds.” Married to Bettie Henderson. Age 45. Common laborer. Born Duplin County to Elix Henderson and Mary Odom, both of Wayne County. Buried Elmwood cemetery by James Guess. Informant, Willie Henderson.

Will Henderson. Died 6 Dec 1959, 712 N. John Street, Goldsboro NC, of cerebral apoplexy. Negro. Married. Minister. Born 1 Dec 1878, to Alaxander Henderson and Mary Odom. Married to Susie B. Henderson. Informant, Margaret Brown, 826 N. Center, Goldsboro NC. Buried 9 Dec 1959, Lightner cemetery, Wayne County NC.

Spouse and children of John Henry Henderson (1861-1924), son of James Henderson and Louisa Armwood Henderson:

John Henderson. Died 8 August 1924, Goldsboro, Wayne County, of pulmonary tuberculosis. Colored. Married. Age 63. Farmer. Born Sampson County to James Henderson of Onslow County and [blank] Armwood of Sampson County. Buried Dudley NC. Informant, Sarrah Henderson.

Sarah Henderson. Died 12 June 1930, Dudley, Wayne County, “cause not known — sudden supposed to be acute indigestion.” Widowed. Colored. Age 62. Daughter of Bryant and Bettie Simmons. Buried in Dudley by James Guess. Informant, Henry Henderson.

Henry Henderson. Died 19 Oct 1942, en route to hospital in Goldsboro NC, “found dead in car, supposed heart attack.” Born 23 May 1901, Dudley NC, to John Henderson and Sarah Simmons. Laborer. Informant, Lenora Henderson. Buried Congregational Church cemetery, Wayne County NC.

Spouse and children of Nancy Henderson Smith Diggs (1865-1944), daughter of James Henderson and Louisa Armwood Henderson:

Willie Smith. Died 29 Jul 1912, nephritis, Goldsboro NC. Born 9 Aug 1900, Goldsboro NC, to I.R. Smith and Nancy Henderson, both born in Mount Olive NC. Informant, C[?].M. Smith, 100 Smith Street, Goldsboro NC. Buried 3 Jul 1912, Elmwood cemetery, Goldsboro NC.

Isham Smith. Died 12 May 1914, 10:20 p.m., State Hospital, Fork township, Wayne County NC, of cerebral hemorrhage. Age 56. Undertaker. Educational attainments: “Read & write.” Parents unknown. Married. Buried in Goldsboro, NC. Informant, W.W. Faison, M.D., Goldsboro NC.

Ernest Smith. Died 5 Oct 1918, 7:00 p.m., Goldsboro NC, of lobar pneumonia (influenza). Colored. Married. Barber. Born 11 July 1888 to Isham Smith and Nancy Henerson [sic]. Informant, Nancy Smith, 100 Smith Street. Buried 8 Oct 1918, Elwood cemetery, Goldsboro NC, by James Guess, undertaker.

Nancy Smith. Died 11 Dec 1944, 4:30 a.m., fracture of pelvis (“fell off bed”), 309 Smith Street, Goldsboro NC. Born 7 Feb 1890, Mount Olive NC to Jim and Eliza Henderson. Widowed. Informant, Mrs. E. Hall, 309 Smith Street, Goldsboro NC. Buried 17 Dec 1944, Elmwood cemetery, Goldsboro NC, by James Guess [her son-in-law.]

Annie Guess. Died 8 Aug 1953, Goldsboro NC, of coronary insufficiency and aortic insufficiency. Colored. Married. Born 11 Sep 1890, Goldsboro NC, to Issam Smith and Nancy Henderson. Informant, James Guess Sr., Goldsboro NC. Buried 11 Aug 1953, Elmwood cemetery, Goldsboro NC, by James Guess, undertaker.

Births Deaths Marriages, North Carolina, Paternal Kin

Battle? Barnes?

Rachel Taylor was born about 1863 in Wilson County, most likely between the town of Wilson and what is now Elm City. Records consistently name her mother as Cherry Battle, or Barnes, but a single entry renders her father’s identity is more ambiguous.

In 1866, Willis Barnes and Cherry Battle legalized their relationship by registering their cohabitation in Wilson County. They informed the registrar that they had been married six years. In the first post-Civil War census of 1870, Rachel Barnes is the oldest child, at 6, in their household. Three younger children follow: West, Jesse and Ned.

However, in the 1880 census, the family appears as: Willis Barnes, wife Cherey, stepdaughter Rachel Battle, children Wesley, Jesse, Ned, Eddie, and Mary Barnes, niece Ellen Battle, and son Willey Barnes. “Stepdaughter”? Rachel appears to have been born after her parents’ marriage in 1860, and this is the only reference I have found that assigns her the surname “Battle.” She married in 1882 as “Rachel Barnes” and is listed as Rachel Barnes on several records related to her children. When she died in 1925, a month after suffering a stroke, her son named Willis Barnes as her father. Was the 1880 censustaker merely mistaken? Misinformed?

DNA, Free People of Color, North Carolina, Paternal Kin, Photographs

DNAnigma, no. 7: Locus, Eatmon, et al.

Martin John Locus (1843-1926) and Delphia Taylor Locus (1850-1923). Martin was the son of Martin Locus and Eliza Brantley Locus of southeastern Nash and later western Wilson County. Delphia was the daughter of Dempsey Taylor and Eliza Pace Taylor of northern Nash County.

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I knew Locuses (and Lucases, their later variant) growing up. There were a few who actually lived in Wilson, but most were from the western part of the county and Nash County. There is no tradition of Locus ancestry in my family history, and nothing I’ve documented suggests it. However, DNA testing has revealed too many matches with descendants of the Locuses (and related families, like Brantley and Eatman) to ignore. So far:

R.B.W. is my father’s estimated 2nd-4th cousin. They match on chromosomes 5, 18, 20, 21 and 22, and she lists Blackwell, Eatman, Hawkins and Lucas among her surnames.
M.F. is my father’s estimated 3rd to 5th cousin. She lists Locus/Lucas, Eatman, Brantley and Howard among her surnames.
E.F. is author of Free in a Slave Society:The Locus/Lucas Family of Virginia and North Carolina, Tri-Racial, Black-Identified, over 250 Years of History, a compendium of research notes, charts and photographs chronicling one of the largest free colored families in the antebellum United States. He notes that the Locus/Lucases intermarried with several free colored families, including Deans, Wiggins, Pulley, Taylor, Wells, Blackwell, Colston, Richardson, Brantley, Howard, High, Williams, Hagans, Evans, Tayborne, Eatman, Vaughn, Strickland, Jones, Pridgen and Allen. E.F. matches my father on a tiny stretch of chromosome 19 (which I did not inherit); 23andme estimates that they are 3rd to distant cousins.
T.W.is my estimated 4th-6th cousin per Ancestry DNA. Her father was born in Wilson County and is descended from Locus/Lucases and Evanses (another free family of color).
T.J. is an adoptee whose birth mother is believed to be a Jones and Locus. She is an estimated 3rd to distant cousin to my father.

What’s the link? I know it’s on my father’s side. Common sense tells me that the most likely connections are:

Leasy Hagans. Leasy Hagans appears in a Nash County census and may have originally lived north and west of where she settled in Wayne. It is not clear whether Hagans is her maiden or married name. Nor is the father of her children known. Was she, or he, a Locus? An Eatman? A Brantley?
Tony Eatman. Willis Barnes‘ death certificate lists his parents as Tony Eatman and Annie Eatmon. Tony was born free about 1795 and is listed as a farmer in the household of white Theophilus Eatman in the 1850 census of Nash County. (He also is listed as the groom’s father on the marriage license of Jack Williamson and Hester Williamson in 1868.) One potential problem with Tony as my Locus link, though, was explained here. If Willis Barnes were Rachel Taylor’s stepfather, I am not descended from Tony Eatman at all.
Green or Fereby Taylor. Delphia Taylor Locus was the daughter of Eliza Pace and Dempsey Taylor, a free man of color born circa 1820 in northern Nash County. His relationship to another Dempsey Taylor in the area is assumed, but has not been proven. One white Dempsey (there were several) was the son of Reuben Taylor and the brother of Kinchen Taylor, Green and Fereby’s owner. There is no tradition of white ancestry among the Taylors, but their Y-DNA haplogroup appears to be J2b1, which is European. Was Green — or Fereby, for that matter — descended from Kinchen Taylor or one of his relatives?

Photo courtesy of Europe Ahmad Farmer.

Scuffalong: Genealogy.

Category Archives: Paternal Kin

Papa’s sons.

Eureka, no. 1.

North Carolina death certificates: ALDRIDGE, part 1.

Where we lived: north of Wilson, near the railroad.

The link.

Found.

Where we lived: 303 Elba Street.

North Carolina death certificates: HENDERSON.

Battle? Barnes?

DNAnigma, no. 7: Locus, Eatmon, et al.